The Karnataka team is young, so we’re only going to get better from here: Karun Nair

Team Karnataka’s cricketers Karun Nair and Samarth Ravikumar have known each other for years — they’ve played together on many youth teams, and have grown up as players together. So when you see them together, the camaraderie and friendship is hard to ignore. It’s also something the Karnataka captain-vice captain duo carry on the field, having successfully guided the team to a win in the Vijay Hazare trophy last month, and to the final leg of the Deodhar Trophy a few days back. The cricketing aces are back in town, and we caught up with them to talk about cricket, captaincy, their friendship, romance and more. Excerpts…

Congratulations on making it to the final leg of the Deodhar Trophy, and coming so close to winning it. How was the experience?
Karun Nair (KN): We just flew in on Friday night from Dharamshala, and as you can see, we’re sleep deprived. The Karnataka team had a good tournament; especially Sam (Samarth), having scored two tons. Unfortunately, we came up a little short and lost the final to India B, who were better than us on that day. As a player, I’m disappointed that we lost, but as the captain, I’m very proud of the way we played the entire tournament.

Samarth, you had a very good run at the tournament, including a ton in the final. What were your emotions like, coming up big in a final, albeit a losing one?
Samarth Ravikumar (SR): Personally, I was excited and happy that I got a hundred in the final, and that the team put up a competitive score despite starting off poorly. But at the same time, it was very disheartening that we lost after putting a lot of hard work, falling short by 20-30 runs. But I’m glad that things fell in place for me throughout the tournament.

Karun, this is your second tournament as Karnataka captain, having won the previous one. How’s the new responsibility for you in the squad?
KN: Captaining has been a nice experience for me because I was leading an exciting and young squad, and we’ve done quite well. I’ve captained many teams before, so this wasn’t something new for me. I love captaining because I feel I take up that extra responsibility well. Even when I’m not captaining a team, I keep thinking about what changes we can make to secure the results we want, or how I can help the team. I’m really happy that in my first tournament (Vijay Hazare), we won; and in my second, we came very close to winning it.

Being a captain also comes with shouldering the burden of expectations and very little personal time for yourself. How are you dealing with that?
KN: Being a professional, you have to deal with such situations. I believe in leading the team from the front, so I enjoy the added responsibility. I did not, however, have a great tournament with the bat. Thankfully, a few others stood up. Another thing I love about this team is that most of them are young, so we’re only going to get better and have more fun.

Samarth, how’s Karun as a captain? He can be quite stoic at times, and as a close friend, you understand him well, but how do the younger and newer players on the team see him?
SR: To be honest, he can be very grumpy at times. But he’s a very good captain, who thinks strategically and is capable of making changes that produce immediate results, especially bowling changes. I’ve been playing under him since I was 19, so I know how good he is. For the amount of cricket he’s played, he commands a kind of respect among his teammates.
Being a professional, you have to deal with such situations. I believe in leading the team from the front, so I enjoy the added responsibility. I did not, however, have a great tournament with the bat. Thankfully, a few others stood up. Another thing I love about this team is that most of them are young, so we’re only going to get better and have more fun.

Karun, what’s next after this?
KN: I’ve had a long season, which started in July last year and will be hoping to wrap it up with the Irani Trophy on a high note, which is next. Once that gets over, IPL will kick start. It’s a fresh IPL this season, with all the teams having re-done their rosters. So, all of us are very excited to play with new teammates from across various cities and countries. I’m really looking forward to play with the Punjab team and getting to know the state more, and, in the process, become more of a Punjabi.

You’ve been a part of the Bengaluru, Rajasthan and Delhi IPL franchises earlier, so, which one was your favourite?
KN: I’d say playing with the Rajasthan team was my favourite. I really enjoyed my time there and the club too supported me a lot, giving a younger me a lot of playing time and putting in a lot of faith in me. They paved the way for me to be the cricketer I am today.

And how does it feel coming and playing against the Bengaluru team at the Chinnaswamy Stadium every year?
KN: I feel sad that I don’t get the support of my home crowd because I play for other clubs, but that’s the way it is. I do try to put up big scores against the Bengaluru team, hoping they’d realize what they’ve missed and, so far, I’ve been quite successful at it, having scored two 50s here.

What’s your off-season like for you, Sam? How do you spend your time?
SR: After the Irani trophy, there’s a long spell of off-season. I try to balance both working on fitness and techniques as well as having fun. The two months off is the only time I get to spend with my family and friends. Apart from that, I watch a lot of movies and we play video games against each other.

And who wins most of the time in those games?
SR: I do, obviously.
KN: Well, I have nothing to say because he’s never going to agree that he loses more often than I do.

Congratulations on making it to Bangalore Times Most Desirable list this year. How’s the feeling?
KN: Well, it’s very flattering. I have to really thank all those who voted for me. I only hope I go up on the list in the future.

Can you tell us a little about what the Karnataka team’s dressing room vibe is like?
KN: The Karnataka dressing room is pretty chill and relaxed because we’re all quite young. We’ve all played cricket since we were around 13 years old, so most of us know each other quite well. There’s a lot of banter and music that’s constantly playing in the dressing room. But once we take the field, everyone switches gear and plays their heart out. So it’s a good, healthy atmosphere to be playing cricket in.

So, what’s happening on the romance front? Karun, you’ve always been very guarded and private about it.
KN: Well, it’s a private thing, so, I guess it has to remain private.
SR: I have nothing to say.

So we’re not getting any names, updates, nothing?
SR: Definitely not.
KN: Well, not yet at least.